Mother
by HeavensNight
Summary: Post Mother ending of SH4. Henry and Eileen. Life goes on, or does it? Read to find out..


It was around eleven o'clock at night when Henry Townshend stumbled drunkenly into his apartment, followed by Eileen Galvin. Henry laughed as he pulled Eileen by the hand into the room, then slammed the door behind them.

"You are _so _stupid!" Eileen said through a fit of giggles.

Henry pouted, "I am not! It was _your _idea to leave without paying, remember?"

Comprehension dawned across Eileen's face. "Oh, yeah," she said quietly, looking blank. Then she giggled, "But it was fun, though, right?"

Henry reached out to caress her cheek, but missed and hit her shoulder instead. Eileen cried out, "Hey, you moron! That hurt!" she said, nursing her shoulder, though she still couldn't stop laughing.

"Sorry," Henry said, grinning at her as she started to laugh even harder.

"So.." Eileen placed both hands on his shoulders and moved closer to him, pressing up against and flashing him a cheeky smile, "Last time I was here, you never showed me your bedroom." 

For a moment Henry was far too drunk to realise what she was getting at. Then he squinted at her, for he his vision was becoming more and more blurred. "You wanna see it?" he asked, trying to sound sexy, but failing miserably.

Eileen just raised an eyebrow and gave him one of those looks of hers, then laughed. "Well, that's why I'm asking! You're not too bright, are you, Townshend?"

Henry gave her a playful shove, "Leave me alone," he said.

Eileen bit her lip seductively, "So is that a yes? Or would you like me to leave?"

"No, I.." Henry honestly wasn't sure. He was dreadfully tired, and to be quite honest, he was afraid. He hadn't been with a woman in God knew how long, and what if she didn't want to be with him anymore afterwards? He didn't really want to risk it. Then he looked at her, and knew he wanted her. "Yeah, s-sure. Follow me.."

A wave of nausea passed over Henry, but he tried to ignore it. Together, the two of them began staggering into the living room, then down the hall towards Henry's bedroom. Eileen had to grab the walls to prevent herself from falling over. Henry simply chortled at her attempts to stay upright. Eileen frowned at him.

"You're so mean to me, Townshend," she grumbled, though she was smiling. Henry wondered why she was addressing him by his second name. 

Henry managed to open the door, then helped Eileen inside. She grinned at him and kicked the door shut. 

"So.. this is your room, eh? Not quite what I imagined, to be honest." Eileen grinned at him as she glanced around the room, and Henry felt himself flush. "So.." Eileen sat down on the bed and beckoned him towards her. "Show me what you got, Townshend," she said huskily, with a hungry look in her eyes.

Henry was no longer laughing. He was petrified, hoping to God that he wouldn't screw up. It had been so long since he'd made love to a woman, and after everything that had happened to them both, he wondered if he had it in him to do this. Still, his feet seemed to move on their own and he walked over to where she sat. As he did, Eileen started to slowly lay back, until she was flat on her back. Henry kicked off his shoes and kneeled down on the end of the bed. His heart was pounding in his ears. Eileen stared up at him, that look still in her eyes.

"Henry," she whispered, using his first name for once, "Henry.."

Henry mounted her then, cupping her face with his hands and leaning down to kiss her. He could hear Eileen moan as he did so. He could then feel her hands going around his back, pulling at his shirt. Suddenly she was ripping it off, and Henry instinctively began tugging at the straps of her dress. Eileen had already pulled off his shirt and thrown it onto the floor. Her hands now dropped to his belt, as she began to unbuckle it at lightning speed. Henry kissed her again, then started to line her neck with kisses. He could feel Eileen arching her neck in pleasure as he did so. "Henry.. oh God.." he heard her say, "Henry.. I love you.." 

This startling revelation made him stop. Henry pulled away and glanced down at her, utterly shocked at what he had just heard. Eileen was looking up at him, panting. "You do?" he whispered, hardly able to believe it.

Eileen nodded, "I do," she replied with a smile.

"Oh, Jesus.." Henry said breathlessly, breaking into nervous laughter, "Eileen, I love you too. You don't know how much I.." 

He was interrupted when Eileen pressed a finger to his lips. "Shh," she whispered, "We can talk about this later. For now, just.. just make love to me, Henry."

And that was that. They didn't need to talk anymore. Henry smiled adoringly at her and stroked her hair. He didn't care about anything else. It was her, she was all he wanted. He couldn't bear to think of what life could have been like without her, had she not survived that fateful night. Now that was over, and they could finally be together. Henry was so happy he could have cried. He'd never known love like this, no other woman had given him the time of day. But she was different. He knew she wasn't like the others. She was real. And she was his.

-

Hours later, Henry lay awake while Eileen slept soundly beside him. He couldn't sleep while she was laying there. He just wanted to look at her all night long. He literally couldn't take his eyes off her. "Eileen.." he said to himself, gazing across at the beautiful woman who lay at his side. At his words she began to stir slightly, and Henry jumped slightly. He heard Eileen groan and then she turned over to face him.

"Henry?" she said sleepily, glancing at him in surprise, "Why are you still awake?"

Henry smiled and reached out to stroke her hair, "Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you up. Just I.. I couldn't sleep."

Eileen smiled warmly back at him. "It's okay. Hey, while we're both awake, I just wanted to apologize for blurting that out before.. you know, telling you I loved you.. I didn't mean to say it during.. you know.. it just sort of came out.. you know?"

Henry chuckled as she stammered through the sentence, only to receive a jab in the ribs from Eileen, who was frowning deeply. "I pour my heart and soul out to you and all you can do is laugh?" she exclaimed, though Henry could tell she was joking. Sure enough she smiled again. "I'm just sorry, okay?"

"You don't have to be," Henry said softly, edging closer to her, "I thought it was.. amazing."

Eileen's lip curled. "What? The sex or me telling you I loved you?"

"You telling me that," Henry went on, ignoring Eileen as she started to smirk, "Nobody's ever told me they loved me before. It just felt.. amazing. And I meant what I said too, you know. I really do love you, Eileen."

"I know, Henry," Eileen said, reaching out to touch his cheek, "I just can't believe this is happening. But I'm so glad," she was positively glowing as she spoke, even in the darkness it was clear to see. "Wait, are you sober now?" she said suddenly, changing the subject.

Henry laughed, "Well, more than I was. I'm getting a pretty bad headache, though."

"Same here," Eileen grumbled, "Serves us right for having so much wine, huh?"

"I guess," Henry agreed, "But it was worth it."

Eileen grinned cheekily at him, "Oh yeah? Was I that good?"

"You were _spectacular,_" Henry said, and Eileen burst out laughing.

"Oh, you're just saying that," she said, chuckling as Henry shook his head.

"No, no, you really were," he said, sitting up with her and taking both her hands, "I'm just so glad this happened. I can't even sleep now.."

"Me neither," Eileen said quietly, and quickly leaned over to kiss him. Though Henry knew he had to go to work first thing in the morning, he couldn't help himself. She just looked so beautiful, and he wanted more of her. 

"Eileen.." he moaned as they lay down together, "Eileen, I.."

"Mother."

Henry froze. No, she hadn't just said that. 

"Eileen?" he glanced across at her, but she was now lifeless, just staring at him emotionlessly, as if she didn't even know where she was anymore. "Eileen.. look at me.. please.." 

"_Mother."_

The single word came from Eileen's mouth, but it wasn't Eileen's voice. This was not Eileen. This was..

"Walter."

Henry almost choked on the name as he said it, and felt his heart sinking as the form that had once been his girlfriend, his Eileen, changed, morphed into someone else. It was someone he'd only seen in his nightmares. But now that someone was here, laying there right beside him. What in the name of God..

And then, before Henry even had a chance to react, Walter went for him. The other man's hands came out so fast that Henry didn't have a chance. They closed around his arms, pulling him in.. 

"No, no! Fuck, no!" Henry screamed, as Walter's face suddenly lit up with a smile, and then Henry felt like he was falling, everything he'd known was going away.. oh God, Eileen.. Eileen..

_Eileen._

And then it was over.

-

"Hey there, this is Henry Townshend. I'm not here right now but just leave me a message and I'll get back to you as soon as I can. Thanks."

_Click!_

"Henry? Henry? Are you there? Pick up the goddamn phone, Henry! Look, I'm running a little late but I'll be there for eight o'clock. You did remember to call the restaurant, right? Damnit, Henry! If you've forgotten.. of course you haven't. Anyway, I'll see you tonight, and you'd better be there! Don't you dare stand me up, Henry! I have to go now, but I'll see you tonight. Bye."

_Click!_

Henry sat up slowly and took in his surroundings. He was sitting on his bed, and it was the middle of the day. That voice.. that had been Eileen's voice. But then..

_What was going on?_

Henry glanced around him, suddenly very afraid. He'd thought that it was over, but it obviously wasn't. What had just happened to him had been enough to drive him crazy. Seeing Walter again.. he'd hoped he'd never have to. 

"It was just a nightmare," Henry convinced himself, though he couldn't stop shaking, "It was just a nightmare. You'll see Eileen tonight, and everything will be fine. It'll be fine.."

Elsewhere, Eileen Galvin was just finishing up her lunch hour at work. She thought of Henry and slowly began to smile.


End file.
